The bylines of many JMSC students and alumni are becoming increasingly familiar to readers of a wide range of Chinese language media in Hong Kong.

Rayne Yuen Wai Yin (BJ 2010)

Rayne Yuen Wai Yin (BJ 2010) interned at Apple Daily before going on to work as a part-time reporter.

Yin became full time staff after she graduated. She credited the JMSC’s media training for teaching her not only general reporting skills but also strengthening her multimedia skills.

“Some of the courses at the JMSC are very practical, such as the Radio News Production class,” said Yin. “This is very important as Apple Daily is now operating ‘action news’ (動新聞), so sometimes I need to write the script, which means I look at what the story is about, then choose the right shots to assist and describe the story. The Radio News Production course was very useful in the sense that I learnt how to ask open-ended questions to get good sound bites.”

“I love being a journalist,” she continued. “Many people told me that journalism in Hong Kong is not well-paid, you will never become a millionaire, and it might only be a stepping-stone to other enterprises, PR firms, or the financial sector. However, to me, being a journalist is not a job, nor a career; it is my vocation — I want to do something good in the world. The fulfilment and the joy of being a journalist can never be calculated in terms of money.”

Mai Jun (MJ 2010)

Mai Jun (MJ 2010) began working as an intern for the newspaper, Ming Pao, last year and then became a reporter for its China Desk.

“We cover any political and social affair that might interest Hong Kong and Chinese readers,” said Mai. “Readiness for various urgent duties is a must. A sudden assignment in the middle of the night to report for the next day comes as no surprise.”

The news stories he has covered include house churches and child abduction.

Mai credits the JMSC’s Writing and Ethics courses with preparing him well for making daily journalistic decisions: “When covering China, a journalist is constantly facing tough decisions such as transparency of information versus protection of sources, which requires a solid journalistic grounding. And I think the JMSC’s courses really helped.”

Vicky Kung (BJ 2013)

Vicky Kung is currently a BJ year 1 student who had only studied for four months at the JMSC before she joined C for Culture, a bi-monthly culture magazine, for her winter internship. She still works there part-time; her main duties are researching, interviewing people and writing articles.

She is grateful to the JMSC’s support, despite her inexperience: “The JMSC is very supportive. Once the internship is confirmed, an experienced member of staff initiates a meeting and gives a briefing and some background information to the student. In my case, the JMSC kept track of my work placement for the entire month and assisted me when I needed help or advice.”

She likes her role because she gets a lot of hands on experience of interviewing many different people, including celebrities such as singer Teresa Carpio and her father Fernando Carpio. “I just love interviews because you get to really interact with individuals and talk to them face to face,” she said.

Christine Kwok (2011)

Christine Kwok, a Year 3 student of Faculty of Social Science, is currently taking a major in Psychology and minor in Journalism and Media Studies. She joined Commercial Radio 1 in August 2009 for six months as a youth host alongside Professor Frederick Ma, former Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development. Together they host “Hello! Professor Ma!”

The experience of hosting a radio programme also helped Christine in her studies. When she took the Radio Production Class, she found that editing was easy for her as she had prior experience.

Through her work experience and study, Christine observed that being a journalist is extremely rewarding: “It is the passion to be a journalist that makes so many of us ready to uphold the role as a gatekeeper of Hong Kong.”

The bylines of many JMSC students and alumni are becoming increasingly familiar to readers of a wide range of Chinese language media in Hong Kong. Rayne Yuen Wai Yin (BJ 2010) interned at Apple Daily […]